Our project met 2021 with just four people on board, and since then, we have been constantly growing and adapting to the new online reality. By the end of this year, we have 25 people working on our projects, with most of them located in different countries and adjusting their work-life balance in the way that is most suitable to them.
Being a startup with a remote team we tested and mastered various online platforms and solutions, such as Asana, ClickUp, Miro, Google WorkSpace, Discord, Telegram, Tilda, content creation tools like Canva, Inshot, Copy.ai, and no-code solutions such as Bubble. And we created our unique working space that allows our people to complete their tasks effectively while keeping a friendly atmosphere up and running.
Being keen on technologies is a good thing, but frankly, this is something you’d expect from a company like ours. But what truly makes us proud is our international team that unites people of different ages, ethnicity, functional background, gender, culture, language, education, professional experience, hobbies, neuro-diversity, personalities, etc.
The fact that we have the 50/50 gender balance was noted by the Dutch Prince Constantijn van Oranje. He also agreed that the Netherlands needs more diversity adding that “It is more than diversity. We need an inclusive tech scene, that is able to provide opportunities for all who have the ambition and abilities to work in this sector”.
Back at the beginning of 2021 blockchain technology was only associated with cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin which made people follow misleading semantic assumptions of us being just another bunch of miners. The situation changed by the middle of the year, when the European Commission recognized blockchain as the technology of the future, announcing the new “Blockchain strategy” aimed at turning the EU into the leader and an innovator in the sphere, thus developing new industries, companies, and platforms.
This political, legal, and regulatory support, along with increased funding for research and innovation helped to change the public opinion on the matter, for the people to see the technology for what it is: a sustainable solution for data protection, IP-loss prevention, and CAD files preservation. Blockchain is anticipated to bring a new age of efficiency and security in the data economy.
One of the main events of the year was the launch of our latest solution for CAD files protection, known as BORIS, an Autodesk Inventor plugin. Our revolutionizing idea is to create a geometric twin of the files that will serve as your own personal guardian angel that will absorb all possible damage from any sort of attacks while your original file stays secured at the repository of your choosing.
Even if the twin is somehow leaked, which is likely to happen, since most IP losses happen due to a human error, you will still have a means of proving your IP ownership over your CAD files by having the master key that remains with you all the time.
To prove the effectiveness of our solution, we visited various blockchain-related events supported by governments of the EU countries. The summit united more than 200 international participants and the importance of the conference was once again highlighted by the visit of the Luxembourg Minister of the economy.
Another important accomplishment was the nomination of our CEO for the Impactful Person Award during the Dutch Blockchain Awards 2021, where Violetta shared her thoughts and ideas about the startup’s case of utilizing blockchain as a data-protection tool.
We have also applied for participation in the 6 months long DMS Accelerator program, where our solution went through fierce competition and was selected out of 50 other startups, making us one of the ten most successful enterprises. As a result, our team spent a few days in the DMS Bootcamp in Madrid, receiving immense amounts of information on how to make our cutting-edge solution for CAD files protection work even better.
Even before that enlightening trip, our solution got a lot of attention from manufacturers who care about their IP-rights protection. Entrepreneurs and companies working in fashion industries and 3D printing got interested in our product the moment when we started our first marketing in Linkedin. We had interviews with shoemakers, jewelry producers, and many other industries that require a reliable tool that would preserve and help transfer information.
This is especially crucial within the framework of the COVID-affected digital world. These companies, same as many others use the computer-aided design on the daily basis, as we stated before, because they are especially dependant on collaboration with manufacturers and other parties, trusting them with their most valuable possession — CAD files.
Another socially important project we started is Fe/male Switch and it is aimed at encouraging women to get involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (or, shortly, STEM) as these areas of knowledge are traditionally chosen by men and women are underrepresented there. We believe that more diversified teams have increased performance and, thus, they make more profit. Our own team is a living and breathing proof of it!
The initiative itself is a simulator game that puts players in a virtual startup village, stimulating them to grow their inner entrepreneurs by building and expanding digital skill sets. Our game masters, investors, and mentors will help future female specialists in the sphere to gain first-hand experience in the field and take initial steps in opening their own business.
We are already partnering with Bubble, Malta Enterprise, Tilda Website Builder, Integromat, and Adalo. These companies are eager to help our apprising entrepreneurs to boost their careers and we carry on expanding this project, expecting to attract new companies in the next year!
Also, an FMS participant may start profiting from newly acquired skills immediately, as by completing quests they get tokens that may be sold for treats. Just like in the real-life, startuppers have to gather a team, make important decisions and negotiate with investors for better conditions.
The goal of the game is simple as that: to reach the top! By doing so a winner gets a live certificate with all projects and successful decisions accounted for. We started this project to encourage women, but now we are adapting it for men and children, stay tuned for updates!
And now we would like to offer you a sneak peek at our future plans.
One of our main points of interest is expanding our presence in Metaverse, the platform aimed at helping designers to create and observe new things while inside Virtual Reality. This technology makes it possible to make objects in .stl or .obj formats that are used in 3-D printing, which is one of the most important spheres for us, as the IP-ownership problem arises here too.
If a designer creates something in virtual reality, there is no means of proving IP ownership on an object, as one would have a hard time explaining to a lawyer that he or she was creating an object via a VR avatar. Most likely, a traditional approach with patents would not work here, as no lawyer is capable of defending you through your avatar these days. So there is a certain demand on the market to find a solution to this problem, and CADChain is up for the challenge to seek the means of protecting your files in different realities.
We are already on this trend and BORIS is getting ready to hop on this trend. Our team has already acquired a pair of VR Goggles to help him navigate in this realm. Another important aspect of our current R&D efforts is the Blender format, used in games to create NFT assets.
We are looking into areas related to the entertainment industry especially within the framework of Fe/male Switch development. Now we are adapting BORIS’s infrastructure to it and to other designing software like SolidWorks and Autodesk Fusion 360.
BORIS remains our main product but now we plan on expanding it on a new level. Several manufacturers in 3D bioprinting showed interest in IP protection with the use of our solution. We are engaging in this trend and will keep you posted!
Our main goal for 2022 is to verify how BORIS fits the market and carry on expanding its presence there.
By now we have 24 people and BORIS, our rough-looking expert with tech and legal background. But we are not stopping and plan on hiring new 3D and game designers, data science analysts, and blockchain developers!
Stay tuned and maybe you will become a fine addition to our incredible team!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
